Restoring Habitat. Growing Community Stewardship.
RiverRoot Restoration is a newly established nonprofit organization based in Southwest Washington, restoring native habitats, creating opportunities for environmental learning, and helping communities care for the land and water around them. As an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity, we’re growing local restoration, education, and stewardship projects with the support of people who want to see healthier watersheds close to home.
Our Mission
RiverRoot Restoration’s mission is to restore and protect riparian ecosystems through invasive species removal, native plant restoration, environmental education, and community engagement. We work to improve water quality, stabilize streambanks, enhance wildlife habitat, and support the long-term recovery of salmon and other native species.
Restoring the Connections Between Land, Water, and Community
Healthy watersheds connect forests, wetlands, streams, neighborhoods, schools, and the people who care for them. RiverRoot Restoration brings together ecological restoration, environmental education, water conservation, and community stewardship to care for the streams, habitat, and shared spaces that make up a watershed.
We plan each project with continued care in mind. That means returning for maintenance and monitoring, caring for new plantings as they establish, and creating ways for community members to stay involved over time.
Riparian Habitat Restoration
Riparian restoration focuses on streambanks, wetlands, and the vegetation that protects them. RiverRoot is developing projects that may include invasive plant removal, native planting, volunteer stewardship, monitoring, and continued maintenance in partnership with landowners and local organizations.
How We Put Our Mission Into Action
RiverRoot Restoration is building programs around three connected areas of watershed care: restoring riparian habitat, creating native plant gardens, and helping communities engage in stormwater stewardship.
Native Plant Gardens
Native plant gardens can turn schoolyards and community spaces into places for habitat and hands-on learning. RiverRoot is developing projects that pair native plants with environmental education, giving students and community members opportunities to observe, learn, and care for living systems close to home.
Rain Gardens & Stormwater Stewardship
RiverRoot is developing projects that use native plants and biodiversity to reduce runoff, filter pollutants, support infiltration where site conditions allow, and add habitat within developed areas to mimic landscapes like the one pictured above. Rain gardens use plants and soil to slow and absorb runoff before it reaches streets, streams, and storm drains.
Invasive Species Management
Biodiversity
Environmental Education
Native Plant Restoration
Long-Term Stewardship
Water Conservation
Rooted in Resilience
We are raising $10,000 by October 16th, 2026 to help mobilize community support for riparian restoration, native plant gardens, and Stormwater stewardship projects in Southwest Washington.
How Your Gift Helps
Restoration Materials
Native plants, mulch, protective supplies, invasive-species management, and site preparation.
Community Stewardship
Volunteer tools, safety equipment, training materials, and organized stewardship opportunities.
Education and Project Development
Environmental education resources, rain garden planning, monitoring, partnership development, and responsible long-term care.
RiverRoot Restoration uses Zeffy so that 100% of your intended donation supports our mission. During checkout, Zeffy may invite you to make a separate optional contribution to its platform. You may adjust that amount or select $0.
RiverRoot Restoration is a recognized 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please retain your donation receipt for your records.
Meet Our Board
RiverRoot Restoration is guided by a volunteer Board of Directors whose experience spans ecological restoration, environmental science, education, community engagement, nonprofit leadership, financial oversight, and organizational governance.
Lane Morrow
Founder, Board Chair & Executive Director
Lane Morrow is the founder, Board Chair, and Executive Director of RiverRoot Restoration. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and has experience in watershed restoration, ecological monitoring, environmental education, citizen science, and community-based conservation.
At the University of Hawaiʻi’s Curriculum Research & Development Group, Lane helped coordinate Our Project in Hawaiʻi’s Intertidal (OPIHI), a statewide citizen science program connecting students, educators, researchers, and community members through ecological monitoring and environmental education. She later supported ridge-to-reef restoration with Hui o Koʻolaupoko, working across wetlands, streams, estuaries, native plant gardens, and rain gardens. Her work included invasive species removal, native planting, habitat monitoring, volunteer engagement, grant support, and coordination with agencies and community partners.
Lane later transitioned into behavioral health, serving neurodivergent children and students as a Registered Behavior Technician in both clinical and school settings. That work strengthened her understanding of individualized support, patience, accessibility, and the importance of creating environments where people feel safe, capable, and included.
Whether working in ecological restoration, environmental education, or behavioral health, Lane is drawn to work that allows her to serve her community in practical and meaningful ways. She founded RiverRoot to bring people together around the long-term care of Southwest Washington’s habitats, waterways, and communities.
Jessie Morrow
Treasurer
Jessie Morrow serves as Treasurer of RiverRoot Restoration, bringing extensive experience in financial oversight, public administration, organizational compliance, and board support.
Before retiring in 2020, Jessie served as Division Chief of Administration for Kootenai County Fire & Rescue. In that role, she managed a $12 million budget and directed the district’s administrative functions, including human resources, information technology, policy compliance, and support for the Board of Fire Commissioners. At the time of her retirement, the district served more than 45,000 residents across 113 square miles and employed over 70 first responders and support staff.
Jessie has also served on the boards of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, Post Falls Rotary, and CDA Summer Theatre. Her community involvement has included volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul, Christmas for All, the Business and Education Committee, and the Reverse Job Fair.
Now retired and living in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, Jessie enjoys golfing, hiking, and traveling. She is proud to contribute her financial and administrative experience to RiverRoot and to help build an organization grounded in responsible stewardship, collaboration, and lasting community impact.
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Zinnia “Jazmin” D’agostino
Director of Community Engagement & Development
Jazmin D’agostino serves as RiverRoot Restoration’s Director of Community Engagement & Development. She is a Senior Associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. Conservation program, where she works to advance the conservation and restoration of coastal wetlands and peatlands as nature-based solutions for climate and community resilience.
Her work focuses on strengthening the science and policies that help states incorporate coastal blue carbon and peatlands into climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Before joining Pew, Jazmin coordinated Our Project in Hawaiʻi’s Intertidal, a citizen science program that brought together scientific research, community participation, cultural knowledge, and environmental stewardship.
Earlier in her career, she conducted marine algae research and studied interactions between bacteria and the Hawaiian bobtail squid. Jazmin earned a bachelor’s degree in marine science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is based in Portland, Oregon.
At RiverRoot, Jazmin contributes her experience in conservation, public education, community engagement, partnership development, and science-informed environmental policy.
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Graydon Stanley
Secretary
Graydon Stanley serves as Secretary of RiverRoot Restoration, bringing decades of experience in higher education leadership, student services, institutional development, teaching, and community service.
Graydon began his higher education career as a college freshman working as the visitation coordinator in the Admissions Office at the College of Idaho. After graduating, he wrote to the college president and asked to continue working there. Two weeks later, he began his first full-time position as an admissions counselor, recruiting students throughout Idaho, Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, and Hawaiʻi. At the time, he thought he had found a lifetime career filled with travel and glamour.
After marrying his wife, Tammi, whom he had given a campus tour several years earlier, Graydon moved into a role as director of development. He and Tammi later ventured to Eastern Oregon to teach in a small school district. His career also included serving as dean of students at the College of Southern Idaho, ten years as vice president of student services at North Idaho College, and three years in the same role at Walla Walla Community College. Graydon has attempted retirement twice, but neither attempt lasted a full year because he missed the students, his colleagues, and the sense of purpose he found in the work.
At RiverRoot, Graydon contributes his experience in institutional leadership, governance, organizational communication, and service to others. He and Tammi have been married for more than four decades and have two sons, Graham and Jordan. Their cat, Skippyjon, remains devoted to Tammi and is reportedly happiest when Graydon is out of town.
Daniel “Dan” Arencibia
Director of Ecological Restoration & Grant Programs
Dan Arencibia serves as RiverRoot Restoration’s Director of Ecological Restoration & Grant Programs. Originally from the New York and New Jersey area, he now lives in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, where he works as Program Manager for Mālama Maunalua’s ridge-to-reef restoration program.
In that role, Dan leads a portfolio of watershed management projects encompassing coral and stream restoration, green infrastructure, reforestation, and other efforts to improve ecosystem health. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and works at the intersection of ecology, conservation biology, and community-based resource management.
Dan’s background includes experience in conservation, citizen science, nonprofit work, environmental consulting, and research. His interests center on understanding how people interact with natural systems, particularly in urbanized and coastal environments, and identifying practical ways to reduce risks to natural resources.
At RiverRoot, Dan contributes his experience in watershed restoration, project development, technical planning, grant programs, and the measurement of ecological outcomes.
Why RiverRoot Began
Lane Morrow | Founder & Executive Director
I grew up in Rathdrum, Idaho, where my mother made the outdoors an important part of my childhood. She took me hiking throughout the Pacific Northwest, encouraged my love for the ocean, and taught me to slow down and notice the connections between water, plants, wildlife, and people. From her, I learned that caring about a place also means taking responsibility for its future.
My connection to the Columbia River is equally personal. Some of my most meaningful memories are of fishing for steelhead there with my father, who has since passed away. Those quiet days on the water connected me to him while giving me a lasting appreciation for the river and the life and communities it sustains.
That curiosity led me to study marine biology and later to work in habitat restoration and environmental education in Hawaiʻi. I gained hands-on experience around the intertidal, wetlands, streams, estuaries, native plant gardens, and rain gardens. The lesson that stayed with me most was that restoration does not end when the planting is finished. Recovery requires patience, continued maintenance, careful observation, and people who understand why the work matters.
After moving to Vancouver, I was struck by how extensively Himalayan blackberry and English ivy had displaced native vegetation. The problem was hard to miss. So was the potential for recovery. These places can support native plants and healthier habitat again, but getting there takes steady removal, replanting, monitoring, and long-term care.
RiverRoot grew from those experiences. I founded it because I believe people want meaningful ways to care for the places around them, but they do not always know where to begin. My hope is that RiverRoot can create those opportunities while helping restore native habitat, strengthen community stewardship, and protect the waterways and landscapes that future generations will inherit, here in Southwest Washington.
Help RiverRoot Grow
RiverRoot is building the partnerships, resources, and community support needed to turn restoration plans into lasting work across Southwest Washington.
Volunteer
Join our volunteer interest list to receive updates about future restoration, education, and community stewardship opportunities.
However you choose to get involved, your support helps turn restoration plans into lasting care for Southwest Washington’s watersheds.
Connect With RiverRoot Restoration
We welcome questions, ideas, volunteer interest, and partnership conversations from people who care about healthier watersheds and stronger communities.
Southwest Washington, USA
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization